| “ | The flesh is weak! | „ |
| ~ Iron Hands warcry. |
The Iron Hands are protagonists in Warhammer 40k. The Xth Legion of the original 20 First Founding Legions, they were lead by their Primarch the indomitable Ferrus Manus and were the cybernetics and robotics specialists of the Adeptus Astartes. Uncompromising, fiercely efficient and unbreakable, they were one of the most powerful Legions of the Great Crusade, with their Primarch being considered by many as the most powerful of The Emperor's demigod sons. While originally stalwart defenders of humanity and full of righteousness despite their brutal tactics, the Iron Hands were among the Legions that fell victim to the Dropsite Massacre. Shattered, their numbers catastrophically reduced, and the loss of their dear Primarch lead to a fundamental change in their nature. Coming to see flesh as the ultimate weakness, and carrying an extreme, bitter hatred, they distanced themselves from their fellow Astartes, and became as coldhearted and apathetic as the very metal they ritualistically replace their flesh with.
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The Iron Hands were the most brilliant and masterful cybernetic specialists in the Imperium. While their Iron Fist cousins prioritized defense and fortification, and the Iron Warriors unrelenting siege warfare, the Iron Hands focused on cybernetic augmentations and engines of war. Their mechanical augmentations on themselves were without equal and extensive, with some Astartes even being more metal than flesh. Their combat doctrine was brutal, efficient close quarters combat where they could maximize the power of their augments, weapons and vehicles, devastating their foes. After becoming one of the Shattered Legions, the Iron Hands for all intents and purposes discarded their humanity entirely. Shunning the other Chapters and becoming consumed with bitterness, vengeance and hatred, they came to view flesh, and to an extent humanity itself, as disgusting weakness that needed to be purged to remain strong. With their extreme contempt for the flesh, and corruption, they are constantly replacing parts of themselves with further and further cybernetic augments, and are by far the most heavily augmented Space Marines in the galaxy. Their kindness and compassion replaced with pure apathy and wrath, the once celebrated Xth Legion became hollow shades of what they once were, having faith only in the purity of metal.
